LOS ANGELES - The Eagles were running out of time. Their quarterback was hobbled. Their defense was getting torn apart. Somebody had to make a play.
It was Chris Long's turn.
"I think we just realized we have to make a stop or two, if we're any good," Long said.
With the Rams leading the Eagles by a point midway through the third quarter, Long - who spent the 2008 through 2015 seasons with the Rams - strip-sacked Jared Goff inside the Rams' 30-yard line.
The ball seemed to bounce forever before Rodney McLeod recovered and got the ball down to the 25-yard line, and 4½ minutes later, Jake Elliott gave the Eagles the lead for good with the second of his three field goals.
"They were doing a good job of play-action pass all game," Long said after the Eagles' 43-35 win over the Rams (see breakdown). "Boots, play action. Todd (Gurley) played a hell of a game and it made it easier for them to drop back, and I just had a good read on the sack and stayed at it.
"Our coverage was good and I just put my hand on the ball."
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Long, in his first year with the Eagles, now has four sacks and three forced fumbles rotating in at defensive end.
None of his plays were bigger than this one (see Roob's observations).
"I probably just held on to it a little bit too long," Goff said. "Stepped in the pocket there, and Chris Long came around and made a great play. Probably (need to) get rid of it a little earlier there."
The Eagles got gashed for much of the game Sunday, but that turnover was the biggest play of the game.
"I think at that point of the game, we knew the defense had to go out and win the game," Fletcher Cox said. "We knew that it was our time to get a turnover and put our offense in a position to score and just close the game out.
"We always talk about it, we have to get turnovers. We got one and it was the biggest one of the game."
The last time the Eagles were trailing this late in a one-possession game and got a takeaway that led to a win?
It was in 2014 against the Colts, when Malcolm Jenkins picked off Andrew Luck with 5½ minutes left in Indianapolis with the Colts up 27-20. The Eagles wound up winning 30-27 on Cody Parkey's field goal as time expired.
"Chris came off the edge and made a great play for us," McLeod said.
"The ball was squirming around, a lot of guys trying to scoop it up, I just felt like if I slowed down the ball was going to come my way and it did, and I was able to capitalize on a big play for my team."
Thanks to Long and McLeod, the Eagles are now 11-2 with three games to go and NFC East champs for the first time since 2013.
"We felt like we had to do our part on defense and go out there and get a score or make something happen," Brandon Graham said. "Chris started it. Chris definitely started it and we just took over after that."
